POV: Week 1.5

I believe that this week the food needs to be talked about. Every time I come back to Taiwan, food is what gets me through the day. There are so many restaurants and cafes to try and everything has satisfied. Before studying abroad, my dad took me to some spots that he went to growing up. The first was this Taiwanese beef noodle spot. We were walking on a busy street (Taiyuan St) then took a left turn into a dark alley. There were no visible street signs but as soon as we walked in, there were people at every table. The man at the door welcomed us and mentioned that they only had spicy broth and no pickled mustard green. Since pickled mustard greens aren't really my thing, I was okay. They pointed my dad and me to a table under the air conditioning unit. I was confused at first but when the steamy hot bowl of spicy beef noodles came out I understood why. About a week later, my assignment group headed to Brother Noodle near the Shih Chien University. We also ordered Taiwanese beef noodle soup but the experience was much different. Sitting directly in the air conditioning unit, I believe, is the right way to go. At Brother Noodle, we were not under the unit and were sweating and huffing through the heat. At one point, my groupmate and I stood in front of another assignment group's table to feel the air conditioning.

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

Brother Noodle's Spicy Noodles

With the heat, I learned that the true way to get through summer is drinks. It is so hot, water is not keeping me cool. I've tried an assortment of drinks from an assortment of places. Speaking to the last post, convenience store drinks are a quick pick-me-up throughout the day. I have tried bottled lattes, assorted sports drinks, teas, and juices. I usually try to pick something that I can't find back in the United States. So far within the convenience store drinks, the Family Mart passion fruit, and orange oolong tea have been the best. Like a convenience store on every corner, there also is boba shops lining the streets. Right by Shih Chein University there is a street similar to the Ave, near the University of Washington, that is lined with boba shops. We've been able to try out a few with our assignment group. There were familiar brands like Wanpo and Maca Tea but also new ones like Kebuke or 50 Lan. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of any as I just started to drink them immediately. 

Kebuke Tea Dazhi

Ice cream, however, I do have. Snow King is one of my childhood favorites. My dad went to it as a child and brought my family every time we went to Taiwan. They have many awards for their ice cream innovation. In high school, I worked at Salt and Straw, also awarded for their crazy ice cream flavors. Snow King has guava flavored ice cream which is one of my favorites and hard to find anywhere but also have flavors like pork floss, a local favorite, and sesame oil chicken. 

Guava Ice Cream at Snow King

Another favorite and very popular Taiwanese food is dumplings. There are so many different assortments of dumplings to be found in Taiwan from soup-based to pan-fried. There also is an assortment of fillings that can be inside from meats to veggies or even chocolate. For breakfast one of the days, I went a couple blocks to find breakfast. Though it was known for their soy milk I went for the dumplings. I got both soup-based dumplings and pan-fried ones. The soup-based dumplings had a thin wrapping that split when bitten into. It also had the soup spilled right out. However, still very good. The pan-fried dumplings were a bit burnt at the bottom which made for the top to be perfectly crispy. I also got a milk tea and a black tea to start the day. 

Breakfast